5 Reasons Why Judge John Deed Makes Us Swoon

1. HE LOOKS VERY FINE INDEED

John Deed is the absolute, 100% dead-on, dictionary definition of a silver fox. Just look at him, with his salt and pepper hair, and a face that manages to look glowingly youthful while being embellished with just enough lines to make him look thoughtful and interesting. Deed is, in fact, so genetically blessed, that he'd be distractingly handsome even if he went around wearing baggy sweaters and dad jeans. Which is a ridiculous notion because he dresses permanently gorgeously too.

What with his crisp white shirts, (always dashingly unbuttoned at the top), his retro-cool braces, and his casual round-the-house combo of t-shirt and open shirt, Deed manages to always look "cool" without ever seeming like he's trying to dress too embarrassingly young for his age. Which is quite an achievement for a High Court judge.

2. HE'S A SUAVE SMOOTHIE

While other judges in his world bluster about like the pompous old beasts they are, John Deed seems to... just glide through life. With a kind of suave self-possession which gives him the air of always being mid-dinner date, even if he's just strolling around his chambers. It's his supreme confidence, and his wry sense of humour, that allows him to be so unfailingly gallant and polite without ever seeming like a bland suck-up. Then there's that voice of his. If polished mahogany could talk, it would sound like John Deed. Frankly he could be reading out pages of dry legal tracts and we'd listen, entranced.

3. HE'S A NATURAL REBEL

As a High Court judge, John Deed could easily recline into the comfort of his social position. Instead, he's a natural born rebel, who refuses to play by the rules of the establishment. Deed has absolutely no time for petty bureaucracy, and he certainly doesn't kowtow to whisky-sipping puppet-masters like Sir Joseph Channing, who try in vain to tame Deed and influence his decisions on crucial cases. Deed is having none of it, and always sticks to his guns even if it means ruffling feathers and making enemies of some of the most powerful and dangerous people in the land. Luckily, Deed always relishes a good fight.

Jemma Redgrave as Francesca and Martin Shaw as Judge John Deed.

4. HE'S A BIT OF A BAD BOY

And who doesn't love a bad boy - especially when they balance it out by being really, really good? That's Deed to a T. As a judge he's a moral, considered crusader for justice. But as a man... well, he's a dashing ladykiller who can't resist the thrill of new conquests. We probably shouldn't approve of such behaviour, but let's face it: his confidence with the opposite sex, and his torrid bad boy antics behind the scenes, only make him more attractive. No wonder the wives of boring colleagues fall at his feet. Plus, just when we feel like tut-tutting over his various forbidden flings, we remember he also has the redeemingly romantic thing with barrister Jo Mills going on, and we just swoon all over again.

5. HE'S ALWAYS FOR THE UNDERDOG

While his High Court "brethren" seem to be unfailingly on the side of society's most powerful and untouchable people, John Deed is the champion of the underdog. Whether he's dealing with innocent members of the public who've been cruelly victimized by giant corporations, or British soldiers used as medical guinea pigs without their consent, Deed is always on David's side against Goliath.

His sheer, unflinching heroism in the face of dark and sinister forces is wonderful to behold. Even when he's having his career threatened by MI5, or his very life placed in the cross-hairs by terrorist assassins, Deed never shakes from his principles and never takes the easy way out. The other judges in his chambers could learn a thing or two from this man. But they never do: there's only one Judge John Deed.

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